Bill Althaus: Reid's credentials should bolster Chiefs

A relaxed and optimistic Clark Hunt, the CEO and chairman of the board of the Kansas City Chiefs, introduced the 13th head coach in the history of the team his father brought from Dallas to Kansas City in 1963.

By Bill Althaus - bill.althaus@examiner.net

Examiner

By Bill Althaus - bill.althaus@examiner.net

Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 8, 2013 at 7:02 AM

By Bill Althaus - bill.althaus@examiner.net

Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 8, 2013 at 7:02 AM

Kansas City, MO

A relaxed and optimistic Clark Hunt, the CEO and chairman of the board of the Kansas City Chiefs, introduced the 13th head coach in the history of the team his father brought from Dallas to Kansas City in 1963.

Hunt seemed at ease as he introduced former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, who replaces Romeo Crennel after a disastrous 2-14 season.

Hunt and Reid met for nine hours this past weekend in Philadelphia, and following the marathon session, Reid agreed to come to Kansas City.

“A week ago today, when I began the search for our next head coach,” Hunt said Monday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium, “I outlined a specific set of criteria that I believe best described the ideal candidate for our job.

“I knew that I wanted a proven leader who has built a successful program; I knew I was looking for an effective communicator, teacher and someone with a high football IQ and a strong work ethic. Finally – most importantly – I wanted a man of integrity, who would hold himself and those around him accountable to get the job done. What I didn't know when I laid out those criteria last week was that I was effectively describing Andy Reid.”

Over the past 14 years, Reid led the Eagles to nine playoff appearances and went to the NFC championship game five times and to the Super Bowl once.

During Reid's tenure in Philadelphia, the Chiefs have employed five coaches and have not won a playoff game since 1993 during the short-lived Joe Montana era.

Reid has a reputation around the NFL of being a hard-working, roll-up-your-sleeves, blue-collar coach who always gets the most out of his players.

While Crennel seemed to be a great guy, he had a team with five Pro Bowl players and managed just two wins.

Reid is also known as an offensive guru who usually gets the most out of his starting quarterback, which was one of the first questions the new head coach addressed.

“I'm going to study the heck out of the guys that are here and have a chance to meet those guys,” Reid said, referring to the quarterbacks on the Chiefs roster. “Then I'll have a chance to evaluate that at that point.

“We have been blessed with the No. 1 pick in the draft, and you want to make sure you do the right thing and pick the right guy, not necessarily a quarterback. It has to be the right thing. You don't want to force anything. People that do that get themselves in trouble.”

Here's a fact that should excite Chiefs fans – Reid spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers under head coach Mike Holmgren. Following a stint as offensive line coach at the University of Missouri from 1989 to 1991, he spent seven years with the Packers and served as the tight ends coach and assistant offensive line coach (1992-96) and as quarterbacks coach (1997-98).

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In that span the Packers reached the playoffs six times and represented the NFC twice in back-to-back Super Bowls, defeating New England in Super Bowl XXXI and falling to Denver in Super Bowl XXXII.

During his two-year stint as quarterbacks coach, Reid worked with Packers quarterback Brett Favre. While tutoring Favre, Reid and the Packers won their second straight NFC title and Favre garnered league MVP honors for the third consecutive season.

Reid doesn't have anyone close to Favre's talent to work with in Kansas City, but Favre wasn't a world beater when he joined the Packers after a short stint in Atlanta.

The short, crisp 28-minute news conference was refreshing in its simplicity. It reflected the man it featured. Reid is a coach first, and he doesn't seem to care about all the hoopla associated with the NFL.

I really liked the way Hunt answered a question about the embarrassing 2012 campaign.

“I'm glad that 2012 is in the rearview mirror at this point and that we are off to 2013,” Hunt said. “In Andy, we already have our first victory.”

And believe me, many more will follow once the regular season rolls around in September.